An Honorable German (50 page)

In the early 1980s I corresponded with the late Jürgen Wattenberg, Kapitän zur See a.D.(Captain, ret.), former senior navigation
officer of
Admiral Graf Spee
. I wish to acknowledge the information he shared with me.

I wish to thank Mr. Joseph Gilbey of Ontario, Canada, who sent me a copy of his book,
Langsdorff of the
Graf Spee
: Prince of Honor
. This excellent biography deserves a wider circulation. Mr. Gilbey answered a number of questions and kindly gave his permission
to use several quotes of Captain Langsdorff’s cited in the book.

I wish to thank Mr. Jak P. Mallmann Showell, the foremost authority on the German UBoatwaffe in World War Two, for answering
my questions about U-boats and daily life in the Third Reich. I recommend any and all of his many books, all of which are
excellent. Two were particularly helpful:
U-Boats under the Swastika
and
U-Boat Commanders and Crews
.

I wish to thank the many people, including former U-boat crewmen, who shared their experiences with me, responded to my letters
or e-mails, or answered my questions on various Kriegsmarine forums.

Details of the historical events that underpin the novel, along

with suggestions for further reading, can be found on my Web site:
www.charlesmccain.com

I can say without reservation that
An Honorable German
would never have been written and published without the encouragement, enthusiasm, and constant support of my friend the
distinguished historian and author Derek Leebaert. He not only made time to listen and empathize with my frustrations over
writing, he introduced me to my agent. Thank you, Derek, for everything you did for me. Without you, it never would have happened.

There is a proverb that I have found to be true throughout my life: “When the student is willing, the teacher appears.” And
so it was that I met one of the best teachers I have ever had: Jürgen Meyer-Brenkhof (Crew X/71M), Fregattenkapitän a.D.,
Deutsche Marine (Commander, retired, German Navy). I offer my heart-felt thanks and sincere gratitude to Jürgen, who shared
with me his encyclopedic knowledge of the German navy, German history, and all subjects nautical. Jürgen read the entire manuscript,
made numerous corrections, offered many suggestions, and answered hundreds of questions. Further, he entrusted me with the
private memoirs of his late father, who served with great bravery in the Kriegsmarine, and whose memoirs are rich in the kind
of detail I was seeking. All of this greatly improved the accuracy of the narrative. Thank you, Jürgen, for all you taught
me, your friendship, and your support of this endeavor.

My literary agent, Deborah Grosvenor, who, among her many accomplishments discovered the novelist Tom Clancy, put her considerable
reputation on the line to sell my novel. Both her decision to represent me and her constant encouragement during the year
and a half I spent rewriting my novel were critical in keeping up my morale. Her enthusiasm and passion for
An Honorable German
resulted in a letter to publishers so strong as to be the equivalent of a broadside from
Graf Spee
. Thank you, Deborah, for all you did. No author could have asked more from an agent.

I offer my most sincere thanks and gratitude to my editor, Mitch Hoffman. His uncompromising vision of what the novel could
be, his sharp pencil, and his gentle requests for me to re-work (and rework) certain scenes in the novel not only challenged
me to do my very best writing but made the book so much better than it otherwise would have been. Further, Mitch always knew
just the right words with which to reassure me during the many times I became so stressed out I wanted to throw my laptop
out the window.

I want to thank Tom Rancich, Lt. Commander (ret.), U.S. Navy SEALS, who kindly answered a number of my questions about ships
and other subjects nautical.

I want to thank my friend Captain William D. Messer, Palm Beach Pilots Association, who carefully reviewed the manuscript
for any errors or omissions.

I owe special thanks to my friend Stuart Brodsky, who spent so much time listening to me talk about the novel that he became
an expert on the German navy, even though he did not want to be.

I want to thank the following fraternity brothers, who have been listening to this story off and on since we first graduated
from Tulane: Larry Comiskey, Nelson Gibson, Scott Katzmann, and Bob Warren. I am grateful for their support over these many
years but, far more important, I am grateful for the bonds of brotherhood and friendship we formed in college, which have
stayed with us to this day.

I would like to thank the following for their friendship and support over many years: my brother Will McCain and my sister-in-law
Jeanelle, Hugh Auchincloss, Greg Barnard and Roman Terleckyj, Dana and Stan Day, Scott Guenther, Glenn Hennessey, Jon Low,
Isaac Lustgarten and Edward Flannigan, Anne Messer, Tom O’Rourke, Dana Pickard and Joyce Elden, Robin Rance, Joy Ryan, David
Sperling, Stacey Jarrett Wagner, Eleanor Weinstock, and Matt Weissman. To this list I add, in memoriam, my late friend and
one of the finest men I have ever known, Sander B. Weinstock.

In the book of sorrow that is the Second World War, there exists a chapter seldom read, the words now so faded as to be indecipherable.
These are the names of the countless Germans who gave their lives resisting the tyranny of the Third Reich. They deserve to
be remembered.

In the process of publishing
An Honorable German
, many people put their mark on the manuscript with suggestions, corrections, edits, queries, advice, et al. However, as the
author, I had the last word on all the changes, and the manuscript did not go to press until I had given my final approval.
Therefore, I am solely responsible for all errors, mistakes of omission or commission, or any other inaccuracies—which is
as it should be. After all, it’s my name on the cover.

Writing
An Honorable German
has been a journey of its own, one that has lasted much of my adult life. Like all such journeys, it taught me lessons I
never expected and took me places I never imagined.

Charles L. McCain

Washington, D.C. 2008

New Orleans, LA